UB Law human trafficking project receives $466K grant

Jessica Emerson leads the University of Baltimore School of Law’s Human Trafficking Prevention Project.

The Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention has awarded a grant of nearly $466,000 to the University of Baltimore School of Law’s Human Trafficking Prevention Project, the school announced Thursday.

The project, which is housed within the law school’s Civil Advocacy Clinic and is led by UB Law alumna and clinical fellow Jessica Emerson, will partner with Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service to create a statewide pro bono program that will provide post-conviction legal help to human trafficking survivors.

The Human Trafficking Prevention Project’s student attorneys represent clients who are filing expungement, shielding and state or federal pardon petitions. They also represent sex-trafficking survivors who seek to vacate their prostitution convictions.

In addition to direct representation, the students work on projects aimed at raising awareness of the issue of human trafficking, such as community education presentations, and are involved with legislative advocacy for criminal justice reform on the state and federal levels.